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Sujha Sundararajan
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Crypto giant Tether Holdings has been shaking up the rising gold market with massive metal hoarding over the past year. The stablecoin issuer now holds around 140 tons of gold, according to CEO Paolo Ardoino.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ardoino spoke that Tether aims to continue to cultivate its massive profits from holding, competing with banks in bullion trading.
“We are soon becoming basically one of the biggest, let’s say, gold central banks in the world,” he noted.
Tether’s Rapid Gold Purchases in Past Year
The crypto firm bought more than 70 tons of gold over the course of last year for its reserves as well its gold-backed stablecoin XAUT, a Wednesday Bloomberg report read.
The yellow metal hoarding is more than that was reported by the three largest exchange-traded funds, it added.
With 140 tons of gold reserves, the Tether bullion hoarding is worth $23 billion at current market prices, the largest known treasury outside of those held by central banks, ETFs and private banks.
Ardoino noted that the company has been accumulating more than a ton of gold every week. “And it’s only growing,” he said, adding that Tether intends to continue it for “definitely the next few months.”
“Then of course, based on the market, we are going to decide, but yeah, I think we will continue in this direction,” Ardoino said. “Maybe we are going to reduce, we don’t know yet. We are going to assess on a quarterly basis our demand for gold.”
Tether Stores Bullion in Swiss Nuclear Bunker
The USDT issuer is particular in storing its massive gold hoardings. The company has taken “the unusual step” of storing the precious metal in the former nuclear bunker in Switzerland, guarded by multiple layers of thick steel doors, Ardoino, 41, added.
“It’s a James Bond kind of place, it’s crazy,” he described the vaults.
Besides, Tether is also looking to trade the precious metal, competing with major Wall Street players, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC.
“Our goal is to have a steady, stable, long-term access to gold,” Ardoino noted.
Following the news, Tether’s gold-backed XAUT stablecoin soared 3.99% over the last 24 hours, per CoinMarketCap data. The asset extended its weekly (+8.88%) and monthly (+18.06%) gains amid broader bullion strength.
The crypto firm’s gold holdings surpasses nations like Greece and Australia, positioning it among the top 30 global holders.
